Finding quality free overlays online can be painful, so here’s a free 4K pack of light leaks and lens flares to save you the hassle

When to use light leaks and lens flares

Light leaks and lens flare overlays can be great tools to help transition between different shots in your videos. For instance, if the cut between a shot of a subject and a landscape is too jarring, you can use these overlays to make the transition a little easier on the eye.

One thing to bear in mind is that your overlay should match your footage. For instance, if you were filming at sunset then you’d want to use one of our warmer overlays. You can also change the opacity, colour temperature and tint of your overlays (shown in step 5) to help match them further.

How to Apply the Overlays to your Footage

Import the overlay and drag it onto your timeline. Make sure it occupies the layer above your current clips.

Change the blend mode to ‘screen’ which can be found in the effect control panel.

Find the brightest part of the overlay and position that over the point where your current clips meet.

You can change the opacity of the overlay (found under the effects control panel) to make it more or less intense.

You can also change the colour temperature and tint of the overlay (found in the colour workspace) to match the colours of your current clips better.

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About the Author

Pete Hutchinson is a videographer and photographer based in London. Follow him on Instagram. He also runs Outsight Creations, a small production team specialising in the creation of travel and adventure themed content.